Safely Kill Ear Mites on Cats

August 31, 2019

Welcome back to Home and Garden Innovations with Russel Smith. I am here doing a gardening video on how the DE-sect diatomaceous earth insecticide
will help you in the home and garden and the owner’s cat came strolling by. We were looking at it, it is a really nice
looking cat but it appears that it might have lice or
mites around the neck here. So I got my DE-sect PET and I’m going to apply to this cat while it’s around. Once you apply it the cat really likes to
be pet so you can start petting the cat and getting that DE-sect PET down deep around the hair follicles What happens is that the fleas, or lice, or
mites, or ticks start going through the hair they get the diatomaceous earth on him and it dries out the waxy exoskeleton of the
insect killing it by dehydration and not harming the cat. Now cats really like to lick themselves so if the cat ends up licking this off it is actually healthy for the cat because if it ingests the diatomaceous earth it will go in and it will kill the parasites and help with gut health on the animal. So we just applied that to the kitty cat here and if you are having an issue with fleas you need to make sure that you do it for a
period of 45 days because the flea life cycle is
30 days and the diatomaceous earth only kills the
fleas in the last state of their life cycle which is the adult stage. So you need to do it for 45 days, applying
it around where the animals live and sleep and just making sure you get good coverage with diatomaceous earth on the animals. So there you are cat, can we get back to our
gardening video? No? So thanks again and hope to see you again
on the next episode.

12 Comments

So diatomaceous earth kills ear mites? Good to know. Many sources talk about how diatomaceous earth kills ticks, fleas, and internal parasites, but ear mites are something that is not really discussed much in my experience. I would also like to add that people want to make sure they thoroughly go over the entire body of the pet for maximum efficiency. That includes the underbelly, legs. paws, and tail. But I would also like to ask a question. Ear mites can be found within the ear. Does simply putting DE on the outside around the ear help to eliminate ear mites? I noticed that you did not put the DE directly into the ear, which I believe was good that you didn't. While DE is safe to be on and inside of the body, the ears are places that I would not think the powder goes.

Gabe, you seem very well versed in the use of diatomaceous earth as an insecticide. Congratulations! You are correct in that total body coverage of the animal with the powder will be the most effective way to kill insects on your pet. DEsect Pet is a contact product and the insect must come into contact with it in order for it to be effective. (The trade-off is it's non-toxic and additive free.) As DEsect Pet is a very good insect repellent as well, proper coverage around the OUTER ear only will repel the mites. And again, you're correct in that we DO NOT recommend placing the powder directly into the animals inner ear. Please see your vet for ear mites that have traveled to that point. Thank you for your interest!

Killing ear mites isn't mentioned at any point in the video. Sure you can kill fleas, but ear mites live inside the ear canal, not on the coat. Why not title the video "Safely Kill Fleas on Cats" and not deceive viewers?

I really appreciated this information. my new kitten has been suffering with a very bad case & I did not know this until she was taken into be fixed so there won't be any kittens if she gets outside. My last cat became so bored and demanded to go outside & I told her not to cross the busy street but she did & was hit by vehicle. It broke my heart. Her name was Passion & my first cat was named Midnite. She was totally black & was born in my closet in Escondido California. I had gone down to where the mother cat was fed & asked the lady for the black kitten of the latest litter but she informed me that it was already spoken for. Every litter that I was aware of had a black kitten so I went to the mother cat & I told her that I wanted a black kitten. She purred & softly meowed at me. The most odd thing about this is that I lived upstairs in an apartment owned by the owner of the apartments which hated cats. The day was really hot so I had the door open & even my room mates bedroom door open & mine. The cat had never been in the apartment but suddenly got a strange look on her face then ran at lighting speed up to my room & into my walk in closet into the far corner & the first kitten born was black. My girlfriend had done this many times & was the first human hands that Midnite felt but it was my voice that she heard & I told her that her name was Midnite & she would never want for anything & be living like a queen. She lived to be 16 years old. I had to have her put to sleep because the vet said she was so old she was never going to recover. I had her cremated as well as as Passion & they are on the mantel in my room. Although Passion was not the all white cat that I wanted she still had quite a bit of white. I now have had my Midnite Passion & I am currently living with Sweet(smoky) PEA. She is a smoky gray kitten about 1 year old. She is fascinated by the flushing of the toilet. She eve bats at the water being puzzled by it. She is so adorable.

There are two versions of DME (Diatomaceous Earth); one that is harmful to the lungs and one that isn't. The one used in the video, which is used in gardening and that is food grade, is not absorbed by the lungs and is very safe and highly recommended. Specifically, it's called Amorphous Diatomaceous Earth. When it enters your system most of it does not get absorbed and is eliminated from the system rapidly.

There is also another version that is not safe, often used in pools. This one is NOT labeled as "food grade" and is referred to as Crystalline Diatomaceous Earth. Crystalline Diatomaceous Earth is the one that is risky to your health as it can attach to lymph nodes and build up inside your lungs and it is also completely *useless against pests*, so read the description before buying. Gardeners do not buy this stuff because it is not effective and pet owners should not use this, because you are harming yourself, your pet, and wasting money.